Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Movie Info

Say you want a revolution?

When a mission to capture Crossbones (Frank Grillo) goes sideways, the Avengers become a target from governments around the world.  When the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is linked to a terrorist attack, Captain America (Chris Evans) finds there is a riff in the Avengers…half siding with Iron Man and his belief that the Avengers should work for the United Nations and half siding with Steve and his belief that the Avengers should work for what they believe is right.  With the Avengers shattered and Bucky on the run, Captain America and Iron Man go head to head as a man named Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl).

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America:  Civil War is the third film in the Captain America series following Captain America:  The Winter Soldier in 2014.  The movie launches Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows Ant-Man from 2015.  The film is loosely based on the Marvel Comics limited series Civil War.  The film was released to positive reviews and huge box office returns.

Intro: The Black Panther!

Captain America has been my consistent favorite among the franchises of the official Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I enjoyed the original Iron Man more than most of the Captain America films, but overall the Captain America series is much more balanced…Captain America:  Civil War is no exception.

First, Captain America:  Civil War really should just be called Avengers 3:  Civil War because it isn’t really a Captain America film as much as a team film.  Though Captain America is a central figure, Iron Man practically has as much screen time plus all the Avengers (except Thor and Hulk who are setting up for Thor:  Ragnarok).  That being said, Captain America:  Civil War is what both The Avengers and Avengers:  Age of Ultron should have been.  The political thriller plot which questions real morals of being a hero and choice.  It isn’t quite the lesson of the comic book Civil War (which I found problematic), but it still has more discussion points than most of the Marvel movies (though the Winter Soldier’s Iron Man twist was painfully obvious).

Gotcha!

Part of Captain America’s charm is Chris Evans’ honestly.  He gets that hardy “American” persona that Superman emotes but also can be dangerous (and wrong).  Robert Downey, Jr. continues to be one of the greatest parts of the Marvel Universe, and I really enjoy Anthony Mackie’s Falcon (more so than Sebastian Stan’s mopey Bucky Barnes).  Don Cheadle was definitely expendable (but I also think Jeremy Renner is expendable as well).  Scarlett Johansson always does better in these films, and it is fun to see Paul Rudd as a team player.  Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch has mighty convenient powers, and Vision doesn’t develop as well as I hope.  I did enjoy both new additions Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther and Tom Holland as Peter Parker.

…and the fanboys go wild

Visually, the movie is sometimes hard.  I found the fights a bit harder to follow than the previous film, but they still are choreographed quite well.  I liked the new design for Spider-Man (and combined with Holland, it is a win).  I also love, loved the introduction of Rudd as Giant-Man who almost moves in slow motion within the fight).

Captain America:  Civil War is a good sequel to a strong sequel.  The problem now being posed by the Marvel Cinematic Universe (despite burn out) is that now it feels very episodic instead of an event.  Captain America:  Civil War and other films in the series now feel like “ok, what’s next” instead of “that was a great movie”.  Captain America:  Civil War is followed by Doctor Strange later in 2015.

Related Links:

Captain America:  The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America:  The Winter Soldier (2014)

The Avengers (2012)

Avengers:  Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers:  Infinity War (2018)

Ant-Man and Wasp (2018)

Civil War